Prophecies
by Blonde Panther
Summary: Post-FE8. Princess Eirika's dreams have always been right. This isn't much of a problem, until she dreams of the rapidly approaching demise of the man dearest to her. Contains a rather major OC. Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Despite my best efforts, I still don't own Fire Emblem or any of the characters, places, or things you recognize. Except for Valerie, who won't appear until chapter 4. So. Yeah.

**Characters: **Eirika, Seth, Ephraim

**Pairings: **Seth/Eirika, Ephraim/Tana

**Warnings:** Derp. I'll get back to you on that one. Rated T for on-screen combat and moderate violence/blood. Oh, and don't read if you don't like the idea of Eirika being psychic.

_**Author's Notes:**__ Muses. You learn to love to hate them. Mine dropped this idea into my head like a bomb, except it did so at quarter to one AM. It KNEW I had to get out of bed at quarter past five AM that day . That said, I will forgive my muse since this is the first time in a long while I've been struck with an idea that allows for, and actually calls for, more than one chapter. The 'Supernatural' category in this is for Eirika's 'gift,' but that's about where it ends._

_I thank my buddy Josh for proofreading this chapter._

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><p><em>She woke up right next to him, and mockingly ran her hand through his red hair after propping herself up on her elbows. His back was turned to her and he didn't react, but she knew he could be a fast sleeper if he wanted to. She smiled, struck back the sheets of her bed and stepped out, expecting to slip her feet into the plush slippers waiting on the dark, wooden floor.<em>

_Instead, her bare feet touched water. She looked down to confirm it, confused. When she looked back up, she wasn't in her room anymore. There was a thick fog all around her, nothing but water on the ground and fog above the water as far as she could see. A feeling of dread came over her as she ran forwards a few steps, but what she saw didn't change at all._

_As she slowed down, looking at her feet again, she noticed that the water was darker. Deeper? No, it was distinctly a change of color in the water itself. It was turning… red. Blood! Her mind, stained by the war she had fought just a few months ago, immediately assumed the worst and she reached for her sword. She carried nothing on her waist. Still, she started walking in the direction the bloodflow came from._

_Not caring she was unarmed and had no cover whatsoever, she approached the lone figure she saw sitting on its knees. She recognized him- the red hair she had run her hand through just seconds ago, the greyish blue armor over the black clothes and overcoat she knew so well… She ran over to him, putting her hands on his shoulder, only for him to fall back into her touch. She caught him, now noticing the sword in the water in front of him. Most of the blood had been washed off by the current, but it was obvious that it was the source of that blood._

_Well, the primary source of the blood was the man in her arms, of course. Somehow, the sword had been smashed through his armor, drawing blood and leaving a deep, large wound. She pressed her hand to it, but it was very little use. Within seconds, a shadow loomed over her… when she looked up, she was met with a black-robed figure hovering inches above the water, raising a scythe high above its head… Then, she was hit on the back of her head with something hard as someone called her name, and she blacked out…_

"…milady? Lady Eirika?" Her eyes fluttered open and she found herself gazing at the ceiling of her room, in which the heraldry of the Renais Royal family was etched. The rearing griffin silently screeched in the direction of the door, with what Eirika had always assumed to be Siegmund the Fire Lance (currently held by her twin brother) in one claw and Sieglinde the Thunder Blade (which she herself possessed) in the other.

She examined the laurels sprouting at the griffon's feet and growing up the edges of the shield it was standing in for a good while until she registered the voice of the maidservant that had called her before. She looked to her side, where she spotted a young girl with brown hair. There was no way she was older than Eirika herself. "My lady… you don't look so well." It was only now that Eirika realized why she was able to see her family heraldry- she had fallen out of bed for the… what was it? The fifth time this month?

And she was sweating, too. Not much of a surprise considering what she had dreamed. Now, the fact that shew as wide awake, and could still remember every single image of the dream, meant it had been more than just that- a simple dream. Not that she needed this minor indicator of a higher meaning- the nausea and the sweating told her enough. "I- I'll be fine," she said to the girl in the doorway as she tried to sit upstraight. How in the world had she gotten her legs tangled up in her bedsheets like a caterpillar in a cocoon? "Could you prepare a bath for me? Or find me something to eat?"

"Y-yes, my lady." The servant seemed a little hesitant to leave her lady alone, but when it became apparent Eirika wasn't going to ask anything else, she did as requested. Eirika personally busied herself trying to untangle herself, but only with half a mind. With the other half of her mind, she started going over the dream she had had. She didn't have to think twice on the identity of the fallen man she had encountered. She had seen him often enough to recognize him in her dreams -quite literally- and it had been general Seth, the leader of the knights of Renais. The figure that had approached them before Eirika had woken up from what she now knew to be the impact of the floor against her head, had been pretty clear, too. That was death.

What bothered her was everything else- the wound he'd had, the water and the fog around them, and the fact that her dream had started in this very room with her waking up next to Seth. At least she assumed it was Seth- she had only seen him from the back. She could tell that the wound was what would do him in, and the fact that the blood had reached her hand could signify that she would have some part in his death. Not to mention the weapon had been a sword- her weapon of choice. Of course, it could be that she was looking too much into it.

The fog, on second thought, was not that much of an issue, although it signified an issue- the powers that were could not tell Eirika much about Seth's approaching death. They could show her _that_ he was going to die… but not _who_ would kill him, or under _what _circumstances. It was something that commonly popped up in these dreams. The sword did imply murder though. So that left the water… and the opening scene. That really bothered her. Everything pointed towards Eirika having something to do with Seth's fall.

It had to be a mistake. Even if she were somehow strong enough to overcome the inhumanly disciplined, talented and skilled Paladin, she would never have the heart to hurt him. She had promised him she would stop loving him, but thus far, she had not been able to do so. Out of everything she had and everyone she knew, Seth was the most precious to her. Even more so than Ephraim… although she would never say that out loud to either of them. By the time her bath arrived, Eirika had finally managed to free herself and she tossed the blankets back onto the bed. Housekeeping could make her bed properly later.

Eirika set out to find her brother after she was bathed, dressed and groomed. She marched through the marble halls of the castle of Renais, attempting not to look like she had urgent news to deliver to the king, but still in quite the hurry to get to him. Her first thought had been to find Seth himself, but she knew he would not believe her just like that. And if one didn't believe that Eirika's dreams were more than dreams, then the message she would transfer by telling Seth it was him she dreamed about would only serve to anger him.

Second best course of action? Warn Ephraim, and ask him to warn Seth while Eirika tried to interpret the unclear parts of the prophecy. Ephraim was smart. He'd find a way to convince Seth of the danger without treading onto supernatural grounds. "Brother?" The door to the king's chambers was open, but she knocked on it anyway as she walked in. "Do you have a minute?"

If Eirika were to look up 'king' in a dictionary, she was almost certain she would find a portrait of her brother rather than a definition there. Especially the way Ephraim sat there, with what she assumed was a cup of tea as he looked over a small stack of papers. He looked up at her when he heard her voice. "Huh? Oh, Eirika. I'm actually… ah, who cares." He got up, setting down the cup Eirika now saw was empty. Despite them being twins, Ephraim was significantly taller than his sister. Eirika never really noticed that when he sat, but as soon as he rose, she saw it clearly. "What's the matter? You look serious."

"That's probably because I am serious." Eirika hadn't even realized she'd looked different from usual. Now she wondered how many of the people she had passed in the hallway had noticed. "Brother, I… I've been dreaming again. Don't do that!" Ephraim had pinched the bridge of his nose when she had said that. "You know my dreams aren't flukes, Ephraim!"

Ephraim sighed. "You're right, I can't ignore that you effectively predicted half of the events of the War of the Stones half a year before Grado invaded Renais." The king did not lower his hand as he spoke. "But Eirika, just as we can't just brush aside all your dreams as mere… well, dreams, we can't up and believe every single one of them to be a-"

Eirika didn't bother waiting until her brother was done with his rambling. "Seth is going to die."

Ephraim promptly stopped and looked at her. "Seth? As in, _general_ Seth? _Our_ Seth?" Eirika only nodded. "You'd better have good reason to believe that. Seth's the stuff of legends- I don't think there's anything that can get to him."

"Murder can," Eirika said. "Anyone can be murdered, Ephraim. And contrary to what the common folk may like to believe, Seth, too, is only human. He gets tired. He gets sick." Ephraim nodded. There was some truth to what Eirika was saying. "I, too, know Seth is impossibly strong," she added. "But Ephraim, you weren't there when he got that horrible wound… I was convinced he'd die when I saw him take that blow!"

Ephraim crossed his arms and shook his head. "Okay. What you're saying might possibly hold ground. But Eirika…" He put his hand to his forehead and shut his eyes, thinking. "Who would possibly want Seth dead? Just as he's well-known in the kingdom, he's also well-loved. Especially amongst the knights. Who in the world would harbor ill will towards the Silver Knight?"

"Moonstone Valter for one…" Eirika muttered, causing Ephraim to groan.

"Still going on about that? If I didn't know better I'd swear you were having nightmares about that beast."

"_You didn't hear the things he said to me!_"

"Okay, fair enough, calm down." The king raised his hands in a gesture for calm. "Anyone else? Someone who isn't dead, possibly?" Eirika only glared at him. "Don't give me that look, Eirika. We can't protect Seth if we don't know what to protect him from."

"Seth can protect himself," Eirika said, grumpy, "If he knows he's in danger. Ephraim, you have to tell him."

"Why me?" Ephraim said. He wasn't whining, but Eirika could tell he was confused. "You're the psychic. You can explain to him better why you're so convinced he's in danger." He cocked his head to a side. "Actually, I'm not even sure why you believe so, other than that you dreamed it. I just trust you to know what you're talking about."

"…Seth won't talk to me in private and I don't want to tell him in front of all his subordinates. Besides, I don't expect him to have a lot of faith in my… gift…" Eirika studied the grains of the wooden floor. "Ephraim, he will listen to you. You can make it sound like you have a reliable source…"

Ephraim sighed. "…okay, fine. I'll talk to him and warn him. But I can't promise a thing, Eirika." That was fine. As long as Seth heard it, Eirika knew he would keep it in the back of his head… "If you encounter a servant or recruit, tell them to send him to my chambers. I'm not going anywhere today." He looked at the papers he had been working with before.

Eirika smiled despite herself. "The paperwork for your marriage to Tana?"

"Don't get me started." He took the empty cup to hand. "If it's a servant you see, don't forget to also tell them I need a fresh cup of tea. The hotter the better." Eirika still smiled as she left the room.

"I'll see to it. Thank you, Ephraim… really."

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><p><em><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>__Much as with Wolfing Out, I can at this point in time not say how many chapters this fic will have nor how long these chapters will be. The only thing I can give you in advance is the update schedule. As the summary says, I'll be updating this every Friday. When this first chapter goes up, I have a buffer of several chapters, so I should be able to keep it up. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Wolfing Out. Revising is just going to need much more time than I thought, so expect an irregular update schedule on that one.  
><em>

_Reviews, as always, are love. Flames and trolls, not so much._


	2. Chapter 2

Normally, general Seth would not interrupt his training, nor that of the recruits he had taken under his wing. However, when one of those recruits told him that king Ephraim wished to urgently speak with him on an important matter, the red-haired Paladin remembered that he was supposed to act as an advisor as well as a knight. Leaving the recruits in the capable hands of Kyle and Forde, he had left the training grounds, but didn't bother to stop and take off his armor or set aside his lance. Both would be needed once he returned to the fields, after all, and the king would understand that. The door to Ephraim's chambers was wide open, and Seth heard his king arguing with one of his advisors. The Paladin couldn't decipher what they were going on about, but waited patiently in the hallway, a reasonable distance away from the door, until a middle-aged man came out, seething. The door remained open, but no more voices came from the room and so, Seth went in, knocking as he did so. "My lord. I was told you sent for me."

"Ah, Seth. Yes, I did." Ephraim looked about as angry as the advisor coming out had been, but was fortunately in the process of composing himself. Seth had seen the king put his hands in his hair at the top of his head like that often enough to know it was a sign that he was frustrated but dealing. "If you have a minute or two. Something came up just now that apparently required my immediate attention."

"Your marriage, I presume?" It was common knowledge that King Ephraim was bombed with marriage preparations and diplomatic responsibilities, all because he was marrying Frelia's princess. It was also rather common knowledge that the king held a severe hatred of these court matters, as he just wanted to marry his childhood friend and be done with it. Seth could understand- it were times like these that he was grateful for having been born a commoner and not a nobleman. "The good sir did seem upset at something."

"Oh, upset is the understatement of the year. And honestly, I wish it were my wedding they were bugging me about." He shook his head, his teal hair somewhat getting back into its usual form. "Then I could tell them off by reminding them it was _my_ wedding, not theirs." Seth frowned. Ephraim elaborated. "It's been all about Eirika for a while now. They want her out of the castle and into the arms of some foreign noble as soon as they can." He grinned when Seth winced. "My feelings exactly, good general. Problem is, I can't tell them off for much longer. She's been of marital age for a few years now. I still think it wouldn't hurt for you to-"

"My lord, if this is what you wished to see me about, I humbly request to be excused." Seth shut his eyes. He and Ephraim had gone over this a time or three before, and he thought he had made himself clear the last time. "I will not marry princess Eirika. It isn't my place. I apologize for my rudeness. Now, if you don't need me anymore, I believe the recruits are-"

"Wait, Seth." Ephraim had raised both his hands. "I got carried away. This isn't the problem… well, not the problem I wanted to see you about anyway. Sit down." He gestured towards a seat near him. Seth frowned, but did as he was requested. "What I'm about to say might strike you as a little odd, but hear me out here. It's in your best interest to hear it." The general was now genuinely confused. Ephraim normally didn't make such a big deal out of things.

"Whatever is the matter? Did something happen to the princess?" It was probably telling that princess Eirika was the first thing Seth thought of. It bothered him that she was still this prominently in his mind, but if anyone, king Ephraim was a person to whom he could afford to show it. The king had always had his ways of knowing, to the point where Seth almost suspected him of sharing one mind with his sister.

"…not directly… but you could say that." Ephraim sat down opposing the general. "Seth… you're going to die." He allowed the knight a few seconds to take it in. Seth didn't need them. It was common sense that knights would die at an earlier age than other kinds of people did, and the general had always been prepared to die for his lieges. It was certainly not something that bothered him. "Someone has it in for you and will try to murder you on…" the king looked at the ceiling, apparently not remembering on how short a notice it would happen.

Seth used this opportunity. "Lord Ephraim, would you please be so kind to explain something to me?" Ephraim looked at him in silence, which Seth knew to be a sign that he was waiting for the question. "Where, when, and how have you obtained this information?" Dying was one thing. Being murdered, however, was something else. If Ephraim knew that someone was going to try to kill Seth because they had caught the would-be murderer, then there really was no need to warn them… but then how did they know this? Had hints been dropped?

"…that's the crazy part. The part I'm sure you'll find strange." He seemed to hesitate, leaning forward with his forearms resting on his upper legs, his hands clasped. "That's where Eirika comes in, you see." If Seth hadn't given his king his full attention before, he would have now. Had something happened to Eirika? Surely he would have known… "My sister… it's a little hard to explain without sounding crazy, but I assure you, it's real. Eirika is what some people would call clairvoyant."

"She claims to foresee the future."

"She does. And over the years I've learned to at least give some credibility to the things she predicts." Ephraim was actually serious about this.

"My lord." Seth rubbed his hands together, unsure what to think. "I bear no ill will towards the princess. But predicting the future is something that… well, can't be done. After the things that happened during the War of the Stones, I'm almost inclined to believe there are people who see and know more than others. But the future?" He shook his head. "The future is something that is determined by the actions of humans."

"We're well aware of that. But I can't disregard Eirika's past… 'successes,' shall we say. She pretty much predicted that the War of the Stones would occur, and that we would lose a dear friend to it. Unfortunately there was nothing we could do to save Lyon… but Seth, if I were to allow you to die, she would never forgive me." The king shook his head. "I don't know who wants you dead, or for what reason. But please stay alert." He looked at the general, smiling. "You're like an older brother to me, Seth. Losing you would be quite devastating."

"You think too highly of me." Seth bowed his head. "I thank you for the warning, my lord. I will keep it in mind." He still wasn't sure what to think of this supposed clairvoyance of the princess, but Ephraim seemed to take it very seriously. He could at least keep it all in the back of his head. "Was that all?"

Ephraim got up, nodding. "It was. Thank you, Seth. You're excused."

Not too long after that, an already extremely battered training dummy took the brunt of the frustration Seth never showed in any other way, thanks to an equally battered sword. No use wasting a perfectly good weapon on a training dummy, after all. If he saw Forde and Kyle, he could always use his own lance to spar against them. The problem was that if he took them on frustrated, that sparring match would not end well for them. The dummy, weighted in its rounded foot, slung backwards and Seth raised his sword to block the impact of the thing swinging back forward before it would hit him.

Death. Seth had never really put a lot of thought into it. He was the last of his family, unwed and childless. If he were to die before he became a father, his bloodline would be gone. But that was not something that had ever bothered him. He was a commoner. Commoner's bloodlines disappeared daily. It was Ephraim's words that bothered him. Both the twins acted so out of line when it came to their relationship with him. King Ephraim had just admitted to considering him an older brother, and Seth knew princess Eirika was very far from over her romantic feelings for him. Then again, they weren't the first ones. The late king Fado, their father, had treated Seth like a second son. While Seth didn't have a blood-related family, the knowledge that there were people out there who would miss him if he died made his feelings on his own death so much more complicated than they should be for a knight.

It might also explain why princess Eirika had foreseen his demise… if he had to name the person who would be the most pained by his passing, that would without a doubt be…

"Seth, do you have a little time?" He didn't have to turn around to recognize that voice. That voice that had haunted his mind for a long time now, the owner of which wouldn't leave his dreams, could only belong to princess Eirika. He used his sword to stop the dummy from swinging back and forth violently (it wouldn't do anyone any good if it swung into his head- those things were heavy, as he had discovered in his days as a recruit) and turned to the princess, who had approached him with a sword of her own in hand, although hers was finer and clearly lighter.

"Princess… I assume you're here to request a sparring match." It was routine by now- Seth didn't need clairvoyance to predict that Eirika would come to train her sword arm with him at least once a week. And he, fool that he was, had never been able to refuse it. His attempts to dissuade her were flimsy at best, mostly because he had to admit he rather enjoyed their weekly sessions. Even now that it was no longer necessary, the princess' sword arm continued to improve with leaps and bounds. The Paladin had the vague idea that king Fado would have been proud.

She smiled at him. Gods, why did she have to smile at every opportunity? It looked like he was going to be dreaming again tonight. "Only if you're available and willing, general. I wouldn't dare detain you from your duties."

"One of my duties is to see to your safety, milady. In fact, it is my most cumbersome duty and the only one for which I would be willing to drop all others." That was no lie, although it was true in a slightly different manner than Seth would have liked. "In a sense, helping you develop your ability to defend yourself makes that duty a little lighter on me and could be seen as an extension of it." So now he was making her excuses for her? Shameful. "You've already brought your own sword, so if you so wish, we can begin right away."

"I wish so," Eirika said, laughing. She wasted no time in taking a combat stance, from which Seth could immediately tell she had been practicing it. The flaws he had pointed out last time were gone. He knew the princess had always had issues with her stance- her frail form had led her towards a preference for dodging rather than enduring attacks, but being ready to dodge at all times made her stance a little unstable. Every time Seth saw her, something was wrong with it- nothing glaring, and sometimes he wouldn't have seen them if he hadn't been looking for them. It was understandable, anyway. It was a difficult balance to find.

"You're out of balance," he said, "If I make you dodge to the left, you'll fall over, or you'd have to take the hit. Put more weight on your left leg." That was a beginner's mistake. That wasn't like her…

Eirika hesitated. "I- I can't. I fell on my left knee this morning." She avoided to look at him, knowing he hated excuses. "I've been advised not to strain it."

And despite that she had made the decision to spar? Seth sighed. "Well, I suppose… we've seen enough battle to know you can get hurt." He took his own stance. "This should make for good practice in that regard…" He waited a few seconds, partially so that Eirika could prepare herself for the blow and partially for an element of surprise when he would strike, before lunging to her left side. He'd go easy on her for a few minutes before really taking advantage of her injury.

While he was at it, he could probably ask her a few questions. "His Majesty had disturbing news for me." As expected, Eirika managed to jump to the right, causing his sword to miss her. "Do you know more about that, princess?"

"I do." She thrust her rapier forwards, an attack easily seen through that Seth blocked effortlessly. "I'm the one who told him. Please believe it, Seth. I have my sources."

"The powers that be, I would assume." The Paladin stepped back, consciously showing her an opening in his defense. She was wise enough not to invite his counter by taking advantage of it. "Your lord brother said you have had past successes." He shook his head, tapping her shoulder with his sword when she lunged. She ended up slightly curving to the side while he stepped out of her way. "Watch your momentum when you do that. Too much, and you risk…" she fell forward on the grass where he had been standing, "…a fall, leaving you extremely vulnerable to counters." He sheathed his own sword, reaching his hand out to help her up. "I think we should stop. You need to rest your leg, I don't think you're ready for this sort of training yet."

Eirika took his hand, but much to his surprise started to tug on it. She wasn't much stronger than he was, but he was hunched over and she had both gravity and the element of surprise on her side. Within seconds, he felt his shoulder hitting the ground and found the tip of Eirika's rapier on his chin. "Touché, general. I believe that puts the score on 5-2."

"I let you win that," Seth protested, "So in return, I want an answer. How can you be sure your prophecy -if that's what it will turn out to be- is accurate?" He sat up, Eirika letting go of his wrist. He was impressed that she had remembered that grip. He'd shown her that, what, once or twice?

Her glee over her victory had been short-lived, though. "….frankly, I can't." Seth regretted asking his question when he saw the tears forming at her eyes. "But Seth… that's what I thought when I foresaw Lyon's death, too. I thought 'it's probably just a dream' and… I've watched him die twice." She put her hand on his. "Please, Seth. Believe me. Don't make me see that again."

This time Seth was the one who hesitated. "Very well. I'll believe in your gift. But don't worry about me, I've always been a vigilant man." The look in Eirika's eyes gave him the feeling he would eat those words sooner or later.

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><p><em><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>__You wouldn't believe how hard it is to get Seth right D: he's like somewhere between 'inhumanly business-like' and 'warm-hearted but stoic'. Kudos to Nintendo on that one. Also more thanks to Josh for proofreading this chapter._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Notes: **More thanks to Josh for his proofreading, and apologies for this chapter being late. It's just that I... don't really like the way this chapter turned out. Chapter four will be in time and better, I promise._

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><p>The room used by the late king Fado as a study had been chosen carefully to be easily the darkest room in the entire castle. The late king had been able to work better the darker the room around him was- ideally, he would have only just enough light to see his own writing. For him, this study had been perfect. His son, on the other hand, hated this darkness and had ordered for a different room to be prepared for him. For now, though, the door creaked as Ephraim entered the room with a lit candle.<p>

In his own study, he had found no clues whatsoever to the identity of whoever would have it in for Seth. Maybe the files in which he could find something had not yet been moved, so hopeful, he found his way to his father's writing desk. Never sure where to begin his searches, he absentmindedly opened up one of the drawers in the desk. If he found what he needed here, he wouldn't have to venture into the deeper, darker corners of the room to consult the files that were tucked away properly. That was another thing he didn't like about this study. It was one of those areas that almost _smelt_ of the obsessive cleaning up that had gone on in the room. He very much preferred his own, messy and unorganized way of working.

He knew his father had run background checks on everyone in their service, so there would probably be a file on Seth _somewhere_ in here. Maybe if he read the file carefully, he could see if there was any mention in there of anyone who would want to see the Paladin gone. Nothing in the drawers, sadly… maybe he'd be in luck if he tried the file cabinets further back… What was the good general's last name again? Rummaging through the files, Ephraim soon heard a sound indicating something had fallen on the ground. Annoyed, he bent over to pick it up. Apparently he had been so rough in his search that he'd tossed a file out of the cabinet. Unfortunately, it wasn't Seth's. Ephraim checked the name on the front to put it back into the cabinet in the right order -he wouldn't want to cross his father's soul-, but then stopped. Eirika? What was a file on Eirika doing there?

Momentarily forgetting what he had come to look for, Ephraim opened the file and flipped past the run-of-the-mill data (such as name, gender, and date of birth) towards the point of the file. Eirika wasn't a knight of Renais. It made no sense that their father had a file on her in here. Soon, however, Ephraim happened across a pack of paper making up the most of the file, saying _investigative results. _Inside he found a detailed report on a couple of one-on-one meetings several experts and teachers had had with Eirika at a young age. Oh, right, he remembered that… Eirika had complained once or twice that they asked silly things and they took too much of her time. Judging from what he could see, these meetings had all been for the purpose of pinpointing the extent of his sister's clairvoyance. So not only him, but their late father, too, had had an interest in Eirika's gift.

Further down, Ephraim spotted something of note. Eirika's clairvoyance was being compared to that of someone else… A woman by the name of… Faith? Ephraim shut the file, leaning on the cabinet, and fanned himself with it. Faith. He had heard that name before. He knew who it was, he really did. He just couldn't remember at the moment.

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><p>Swords clanged together and after a few seconds of stalemate, the green-haired knight had to take a step back. His blond rival immediately took advantage of this weakness by charging forward and trying to hit him, but the other one was faster and countered immediately. Sparks flew off of the blades during a second stalemate. The two young swordsmen had been going at each other for a while now, but neither of them showed signs of exhaustion nor seemed to want to give up. The blonde's everlasting smirk radiated as much determination as the green-haired knight's serious frown.<p>

Further into the fields, recruits were also training, but Seth leaned on the fence behind which the two rivals tried to land a blow on each other. Princess Eirika had left the fields, Having certain business to attend to. Either state business or interpreting her prophecy, Seth assumed. Suddenly, the green-haired knight turned his head to look at him. "General," he simply said, much to Seth's confusion. The Paladin understood his subordinate's idea, though, when the blond knight turned in his entirety to raise his hand in greeting.

"General Se- Ow!" The blonde had dropped his guard completely by greeting his superior, which had provided his rival with an incredible opening to strike. Surprised, the blonde was sent to the ground. His opponent, satisfied with the touché, sheathed his sword.

"Greetings," he finished what he had been saying, although it was clearly more to mock his friend than for anything else. "Were you excused by king Ephraim?"

"Yes, a little while ago."

"What was it he wanted to see you about?" The blonde asked, "And don't say 'it was nothing,' general. We have a right to know why you left us in charge of the rookies." Seth frowned, as did the green-haired knight. Forde wasn't a bad or arrogant person, but training others was not his strong suit, Seth knew that. Still, leaving him in charge of training for once should have been acceptable…

"…It was nothing that need concern the two of you." Of course, those words perked the curiosity of not only Forde but also Kyle. Both knights started asking about things, until Seth finally gave in. "Okay, fine. He wanted to inform me about a dream the princess has had." The two looked at each other meaningfully. "I know. I too have trouble believing it important enough to-"

"What did she dream?" Forde suddenly asked, his smile gone. Seth only looked at him, only just managing to hide his confusion. "It wouldn't be the first time Princess Eirika is spot on with her predictions." Forde and Kyle, too? Maybe there was something to this…

"What do you mean, Forde?" Seth didn't want to admit it, but he was starting to worry now.

Forde nodded, but it was Kyle who took the word. "Well, at least three weeks before Grado actually invaded Renais, princess Eirika foresaw that Emperor Vigrade would approach King Fado -the Everlasting have his soul- 'with sword in hand and an army behind him.' Then, she called the identity of Princess l'Arachel, who she didn't know up until that point. She also foresaw exactly how prince Lyon would die and she could tell us the weakness of the Demon King, about whom everything was different from how we have been taught it." The green-haired knight shook his head. "It's frightening."

"I want to go back to the time she predicted the outcome of horse races and jousting tournaments," Forde said. "That was light-hearted, we could make money off of that."

Seth remained silent. He knew he couldn't tell his subordinates. They, too, would worry about him. Maybe if the two lost themselves in a discussion, he could get out of… "So what was it, general? We want to be able to prepare." Forde looked at him as if he was trying to look into the general's soul.

"…I can't tell you. It's confidential."

"We'll find out somehow, you know. We're close with His Majesty, too. If we ask him, he'll tell us-"

"Forde, enough." Kyle put a halt to his friend. "That's no way to talk to the general." He looked at the red-headed Paladin. "I apologize, general Seth. Still, I must ask you to please trust us… we are your direct subordinates, we can carry your burden with you."

Seth hesitated. But no. This was his burden to bear, and it was bad enough that princess Eirika shared it with him. "Let me think about it for a day."

"Great. Guess we won't be hearing it, then." Forde's shoulders slumped, but he quickly picked himself back up. "General! If we defeat you in close combat, you will tell us!"

"Yes… because the last time I fought the two of you at the same time that worked out so well for you…"


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Notes: **__Once again, thanks to Josh for proofreading. Once again, I'm a little concerned about Seth being in-character, but I suppose I'll hear it if he isn't._

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><p>Ephraim groaned. He had not slept well that night, and he imagined Eirika hadn't, either. This business with Seth bothered him much more than the Paladin would say it should. And then there was the marital business to worry about… and the representatives of Grado that would come today… wait. As he lay on his stomach in his bed, looking into his pillow, he raised his head slightly. What was that last part? The representatives of… "Holy cow!" All groggyness disappeared from the king's body and his mind was crystal clear all of a sudden as he leapt to his feet and started looking for clothes. "Don't people wake people up anymore! What time is it?" There was no one in his room, obviously, so he wasn't entirely sure who he was shouting at, but it made him feel better. He was supposed to be in charge of the rebuilding of Grado even now that they were somewhat starting to recover on their own strength, and missing the arrival of the entourage was not a good idea.<p>

By the time he finally arrived in the throne room, both Seth and Eirika were already there. Fortunately the Grado people weren't, so the king could catch his breath in peace. "You're awfully late," Eirika remarked, "Even for your standards."

"Sue me," Ephraim said. "No one woke me up this morning. Which makes no sense. Especially when you _know_ your king has the habit of oversleeping, you wake him up."

"You must have fallen asleep again," Eirika said, pouting, "Because I made sure that you were awake before I left your room when I came to wake you up this morning."

It took a few seconds of rather undignified silence before Ephraim managed to reply to his sister. "W-well, you're the psychic here! So why am I the one kept out of his sleep by _your_ dreams? As if I don't have enough on my mind as things are!" Eirika raised an eyebrow, but Ephraim decided to leave it at that, especially when he told himself that all things well considered, the one with the most 'on his mind' was Seth. "When are the men from Grado set to arrive again?"

"They should have been here by now," Seth replied. "I expect Franz any moment to announce them."

"Franz?" Ephraim looked up at him from his sitting position in the throne as he attempted to tame his hair. "Doesn't Kyle or Forde usually do that?"

"Kyle and Forde are both seeing a healer to relieve them of serious muscle cramps." When Ephraim frowned, the Paladin shrugged. "I believe they've had a rather rough sparring match yesterday." The king could in all honesty not ignore his twin giggling next to him, and he knew enough.

"You really need to leave those two in peace for a while-"

"Your Majesty?" Franz entered the throne room, without a single trace of the nervousness he would have had a couple of years ago. "Lady Valerie and subordinates have arrived."

"Show them in," Ephraim said, sitting straight while next to him, Eirika, too, straightened herself. "This is where the fun be… gins?"

The king had expected to be faced with a young lady and her guards, a diplomatic representative of Grado without skill at arms, at magic at most. However, what entered the throne room was a far stretch from that. Lady Valerie was a woman with long, blueish green hair, dressed in what appeared to be mostly if not all the heavy armor of a Wyvern Rider. She had a sword hanging from her waist, and not a light, slim sword like Eirika's- this was a broadsword, more approaching the kinds of weapons Seth wielded. Behind her fell in a handful of apparently lower-ranked knights wearing the same armor, but Ephraim found himself paying them little heed. Valerie was far too much of a surprise. She seemed fierce… not someone he would want to engage in close combat.

When she spoke, it was with a decisive tone and a determined attitude. "Well met, your majesty. At least I assume I speak to His Majesty, King Ephraim of Renais."

"You do," Ephraim replied, over his shock and not allowing her rudeness to catch him off guard. If it was a battle of wits under the pressure of etiquette she wanted, then that was what she could get. "You must be lady Valerie, representative of Grado. It shames me to say I have heard nothing about you. You strike me as a woman many things can be said about."

"I can tell that you had not expected to see what you do. Perhaps you had expected a…" Valerie's sharp eyes glanced over to Eirika for a second, but then focused on Ephraim again, "…damsel of sorts?" Ephraim shut his eyes with a smile. A sign that she was correct in her assumption. "I'm sorry to disappoint you. These days, few women in Grado are raised without knowledge of weapons or magic. Many of us are being or have been enrolled in the troops that will protect our country from further harm."

Ephraim got up. "I'm not sure if I like Grado growing back into a militaristic country right after the war. Most if not all of what threatens your country is natural disasters, and I do not believe it necessary to form an army to fend off mere bandit attacks, lady Valerie." He frowned. "A single division would do, I believe."

"Grado feels different."

"Be that as it may, I am not funding this."

Silence fell for a second. Ephraim knew Seth was considering bringing his hand to his sword, and judging from the look on Valerie's face he might not be entirely paranoid about that. "That is what King Hayden of Frelia said, too… I pray you are more mature than to take advice from a child."

"I'll have you know Prince Innes is easily one of the biggest geniuses that country has seen over the past few generations," Ephraim said without a trace of sarcasm. He knew well how smart Innes was, and he could understand why King Hayden requested assistance from him in these matters. "Much like his father, I will take his advice if I need it, but my own decision is made. I am not funding a potential new threat to Magvel."

Another silence fell, during which the two only looked at each other. Ephraim knew that if he showed any signs of weakness now, Valerie would use them. Much to his surprise, she looked at Seth for a second, then sighed. "I see. So that is something we must discuss in more detail… and in private. But not now. My men and our steeds are tired from our long trip. I hope you have stables prepared."

"I do." Ephraim was about as condescending as she was. "General, please see to it that these people put their steeds away in such a manner it does not bother the horses."

"Yes, my liege."

It turned out that not only Valerie, but her entire group had come mounted on Wyverns, and Seth had the hunch that this had been purely to frustrate either him or Ephraim. Frelia had stables made for Pegasi, which accounted for wings at least somewhat. The same could not be said for Renais. Seth considered telling Valerie the Wyverns would have to rest outside for the duration of their visit, but something told him the Grado lady would not stand for that. Rather, he tried to remember how many areas they had that a Wyvern could conceivably lie down somewhat comfortably. His great flaw was largely the same as Eirika's- he couldn't stand watching an animal paying for anything its owner or host did.

"I am astounded and offended that this country does not allow for winged steeds in its stables." Valerie had claimed the brand new Pegasus box and put her red Wyvern in it. Seth didn't have to be psychic to foresee trouble with this- princess Tana was scheduled to arrive in a few days, and technically that box had been constructed for her Pegasus to use after she wed Ephraim. Her men took their dragons to washing areas, which were probably less comfortable but at least big enough for them to lie down and get sleep. As Seth used this opportunity to check up on his own horse, he saw that several stable boys were already taking preparations to put a layer of hay in those washing areas occupied by the Wyverns. Thankfully there weren't many of them and Renais was very cavalry-heavy in its military.

Bolero seemed to be a little disturbed by the scent of dragons near his stable, but he held himself together well. Seth noticed that his brown stallion's ears didn't twitch into every direction every so often like they normally did, but at least they weren't flat in his neck with fear and rage. That was something- apparently he had grown somewhat used to it after all the Wyvern Riders they had fought during the war. From the corner of his eye, Seth saw Valerie watching him and squinting. She was probably not happy that he had not reacted to her jab at Renais' accomodations. She wasn't the first visitor surprised at the general's eternal calm. "I have questions for you, general Seth."

"I believe it is His Majesty you came to speak with," Seth replied, petting Bolero's head. His lack of apparent interest in her seemed to anger her. It seemed the Paladin had already won at provoking the other knight. "I am neither at liberty nor capable of discussing matters of our respective countries with you."

"I don't have questions about our countries. I have questions about your lieges and about yourself." The Wyvern Lord was very adamant about this, Seth could tell. After travelling with princess Eirika, however, he knew better than to think he could win an argument with a woman. "Why was Princess Eirika in the throne room? She does not rule Renais, does she?"

"King Ephraim values his sister's view on things and often requests her presence in court." Seth let go of Bolero's head, much to the horse's pleasure, and turned to Valerie. "Princess Eirika is wiser than many people think."

"She is also rather attractive." Seth could not help but agree with that, but wondered why she brought it up. "Was your liege hoping to… distract the male ambassador he was expecting in order to disadvantage Grado?"

Seth caught the insinuation and internally, he was enraged at the gall this woman had. However, he kept it inside and rather than showing rage, he merely replied with "The princess is a woman of virtue, madam. The king is well aware of this as well. On top of that, neither of the twins would stoop to that level."

"The twins?" The tone in Valerie's voice reinforced what Seth had thought the second he had uttered those words. A normal retainer would not have referred to them as 'the twins.' He might as well have told her how close he had been to the two when they had all been younger. "I see. I never knew they were twins."

"That is strange. Your late Emperor and his son had close ties with the royal family of Renais." Valerie only half hid her frustration at those words. "Although I suppose most sovereigns do not entrust mere citizens with such information…"

"My brother was a high-standing, well-respected general of the Grado Army before it fell into the hands of the Demon King, general Seth." Valerie had crossed her arms in anger. "I know everything he knew."

"Knew? He is no longer… among us?" Seth knew most Grado generals from the war were no longer alive, but as for those who led the Grado army before that…

"He was killed." Valerie walked past him, apparently done with this conversation. "He was killed by a cold-blooded, heartless murderer." She left the stables, taking her men with her. No doubt to terrorize the servants in charge of preparing their rooms, Seth thought. He was so happy he was not one of them.


	5. Chapter 5

"…Eirika." She looked up when her brother said her name, shortly after Seth had left the throne room with Valerie. "What do you think?"

He didn't have to explain what he meant. It had struck Eirika, too. "…I don't know what to think. I know Natasha is in Jehanna, but I had expected to at least see Knoll. Not this… lady…"

"I admire your ability to remain polite in the face of that crazy vixen." Ephraim crossed his arms. "I'm surprised we didn't see her during the war. She strikes me as the kind of woman who'd gladly chop my head off."

"Ephraim! Must you use such words knowing I picture this kind of stuff?"

"Ehhh. Anyway, that's not really what I meant." He got up and started pacing back and forth in front of the throne. "I've told you what I found in Father's study, right?" She nodded. He had asked her to try and remember if she knew anyone named Faith. "Did you come up with anything?"

"There is a possibility." Eirika crossed her arms. "But I'd have to look into it more deeply to be absolutely sure."

"Share your hunch with me, sister."

"Mother." She let her word sink in a little before she explained. "I can't believe you didn't think of that. Faith was the name of our _mother_, you cretin."

"Mother died giving birth to us," Ephraim defended himself, "So how did you suppose I would know that?"

Eirika wanted to fire back that he could pay attention when people talked to him, but she decided that if she let this argument begin, it would not end until after lunch. Instead, she composed herself. "I'm not sure yet," she said. "Of course it's extremely likely that the Faith spoken of in my file is our mother, but we have to keep in mind the possibility that we're talking about a completely different person."

"What are you going to do, then? There was no file on her."

"There's a lot I don't know about my gift." She crossed her arms. "All I know is that I have it, that I have little control over it, and that some prophecies are a lot harder to interpret than others are. I need to know more. Where it came from, why I have it and people like l'Arachel don't…"

"Let me do that." She looked at him. "Don't give me that look. I'm not retarded."

"You hate research. Besides, you have to keep an eye on Valerie and negotiate with her."

"Just as I deceived Father McGregor into believing that book I'd borrowed from Duessel was a history book, so I can make Valerie believe my mind is on the negotiations while I look into your gift." Ephraim grinned. "And besides, Seth is still here, too. Anything I don't pick up on, he will. He's foolproof!" He shook his head a few times. "You, on the other hand, have a prophecy to interpret and a Paladin to save. Unlike the negotiations, this cannot wait. If I delay Valerie, I might cross Joshua and l'Arachel-though I doubt they'd mind- and I will get on her bad side, but if you delay the translation of your dream into a prediction people like me can understand, Seth could die before we know anything."

Eirika couldn't argue with that. Ephraim saw her expression change and immediately went into a state of alarm. "Eirika? What's the matter? You don't look happy." She shook her head, indicating she didn't want to talk about it. Ephraim took her hand. "In fact you look like you could burst into tears any second. Come on. Sit down." He guided her into sitting down on the throne, before kneeling in front of her with her hands in his. "What is it?"

"…I've already performed what interpreting I could…" She shivered. "All the warning signs point to me. I was alone with him, the murder weapon was a sword, no one came to help us or to claim the murder…" She pulled her hands from Ephraim's and covered her face with them. "It's me, Ephraim! I don't know how it's going to happen, but I will murder Seth!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself." Ephraim got up, gently rubbing her shoulders. "Why would you try to hurt Seth?" He could probably think of a few not-very-serious reasons, but for the sake of not upsetting his sister more he kept his wittiness to himself. "And even if you wanted to… how would you do it? You know how strong he is. Then there's Kyle, Forde and Franz who wouldn't let it happen. Heck, _I_ would stop you."

"I know… like I said, I don't know why or how. But that's what the powers that be seem to be telling me."

"The powers that be don't know what they're saying. Start over." Ephraim took his sister's hand and assumed the most pretentious stance he could come up with on the fly. "That's my order to you as your king. Stop thinking silly things like that and go back to work with a fresh mind. Go back to square one and start all over from there. Without prejudice against yourself. If I ever again hear you say that you will be responsible for the attempt at Seth's life, I will see to it that he hears how much more worried you are than is appropriate."

"Thats the best you can come up with?" despite herself, Eirika smiled at him.

"Threatening to engage the two of you is more of a threat I would make to him," Ephraim said, smirking. "But in all seriousness. Don't worry about that. I know you better than you seem to know yourself sometimes, and I know you wouldn't do a thing to him."

"…you may be right," Eirika muttered, much to Ephraim's relief.

"I'm your big brother," he said, drawing a small frown from her. "And also king of Renais. It's my job to be right. Now, I suggest you do what Seth always does when he feels bad about himself."

"Beat up some knights under the guise of it being a sparring match?"

"No, get to work to take your mind off of things!"

Near the stables was a large corral where, during the summertime, the horses spent more of their time than in the stable or under the saddle. More often than not, at least a couple of their riders were there as well. Renais' horsemen commonly came here when they had nothing better to do- Franz was no exception to that, but this time he had a different reason. He had his own horse by the harness in his left hand and the general's in his right, and was now wondering how in the world he was going to open the fence without letting go of one of the horses and risking that it ran away. He had almost decided on letting go of his own horse -he could not afford for Bolero to be lost after general Seth asked him to take him outside, or he would be in for it- when a shadow soared by and a Pegasus landed square in the middle of the pen. Its rider gracefully dismounted and Franz saw Amelia hurrying over to her to help take the tack off the animal.

Princess Tana, instead, came to the fence and opened it so she could exit. "Hi, Franz," she said, smiling. She was clearly in a good mood, which was no surprise considering the reason she was here. It also partially explained why she had come a few days early. "Do you know where I can find Ephraim or Eirika?"

Franz found himself somewhat uncomfortable at his inability to show her the proper respect, and carefully moved both horses into he corral before letting go of their harnesses. The swiftness with which both rushed off towards their fellow warhorses made him wonder why he had even been needed- they might just have jumped the fence if they had wanted to. Not a very comforting thought, if the young cavalier had to be honest. "T-thank you, princess Tana." He only now managed to bow before her. "I'm afraid his majesty is currently at work, but her highness is most likely available… I suggest you try her chambers. O-or should I go look for her?"

"Not at all!" Tana said, laughing, "I'm a little stiff from sitting still on Achaeus for so long. Climbing some stairs will do me good." And she made off, energetically and cheerful. Franz looked at her for a few seconds, before being alarmed by a shriek and hurriedly stepping forward to catch Amelia, who had tripped with the heavy saddle of the Frelian princess's Pegasus. He took the saddle from her, smiling a lot less nervously, and left the corral to put it away along with the bridle Amelia still carried.

On the way there, he passed Forde, who leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and a very distinct uncharacteristically bothered look on his face. "You won't find a place to put that saddle in there," he said. "They've taken over the stables. I'm considering just throwing Melody into the corral for the duration of their stay as well. Good call on the general's part."

"They?" Amelia repeated, "Do you mean the Wyverns I saw before?"

"Pretty much," Forde said. "Their scent is driving the horses nuts, even those who fought side-by-side with Genarog during the War. And don't get me started on the riders." Franz had not been about to. "One of them already managed to get under Kyle's skin." Franz knew what his brother was talking about. He had seen the Wyvern Riders accompanying lady Valerie before he had announced them to King Ephraim and they were rowdy and hungry for battle.

"I don't understand," he said. "Why would Grado send an envoy that so obviously lives for battle? What is Knoll trying to tell us?"

"Ask the general, the princess or the king, not me. I've never been taught the finesses of politics." Franz frowned. Forde was _really_ upset over all this. "All I know is that it wouldn't hurt for king Ephraim or general Seth to beat some manners into these Grado thugs. No offense, Amelia, but that's just what they are."

"That's fine…" but Amelia had gone very silent and stepped back about a foot and a half. She was from Grado herself, and when talking about the War of the Stones or, in this case, distinctly unmannered men from Grado, Franz always felt he was insulting her personally.

"Um… so where should we take the tack?"

"Under normal circumstances I'd say 'pull away some Wyvern equipment in the spare tack room,' but chances are they'd take that out on princess Tana and I don't want to be the one who answers to king Ephraim about that."

"Here." Forde suddenly looked to his other side and stood straight, catching a small, silver key. On it was a metal tag with the name 'Achaeus' etched into it. Kyle approached them. "His Majesty arranged for a separate locker along with the stable. Much like us, princess Tana has her personal space to store her tack here in Renais."

"That's what we thought about her Pegasus, too."

"Except the locker, hence the name, has a lock, and that's the only key you have there." Kyle smirked. "Valerie will not be pleased, but we don't want to give His Majesty reason to get mad at us." Kyle ruffled Amelia's hair when he passed her. "I just hope this won't take longer than a few days… I just inspected a few cavaliers and every last one of them is uneasy about the Wyvern Riders. I smell a riot coming if they stay for too long."

"Our men won't pick a fight with these guys," Forde said. "King Ephraim and general Seth have seen to it that the men taken into our service after the War were of sound mind, and they've been taught discipline by none less than general Seth himself. Purposefully attacking soldiers of another country… no matter how gladly I'd remove these guys, it's not worth facing the general's wrath over."

"I didn't say our men would _pick_ the fight…" Kyle said, "But if the Wyvern Riders attack us, then we will fight back. And that could end nastily."

Franz swallowed painfully. It was childish, he shouldn't think like this, but he wanted the men and their dragons out of Renais.

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><p><em><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>As per usual,_ _proofread by Josh. He's got a fanfiction account by the name of Zaldien these days, so take a look at his work sometime._


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author's Notes:** Once more, Josh proofread this. I'm not sure yet whether or not I should work towards the climax yet. On one hand now seems a good time but on the other hand, won't the fic be too short if I do?_

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><p>Eirika sat at her writing desk with a number of papers scattered on the table. On a few of them were the contents of her dream, on others the beginnings of an interpretation. However, most of the latter was crossed out or crumpled up. Parts of her prophecy were very clear… but others eluded her beyond words. It was frustrating, and she had the feeling that she was running out of time. …<em>Seth<em> was running out of time. She rubbed her forehead and took up her quill again. "Let's try that again…"

"Eirikaaaa!"

She jolted up, dragging her quill across the entire page, when Tana busted through the door to her chambers. She didn't have to turn around to know it was the Falcoknight- she recognized her childhood friend's voice anywhere. "Tana! Don't scare me like that!" Eirika turned around, got up and walked over to her friend to greet her. "You're early! You weren't supposed to arrive for a few more days!"

"Innes is making such a scene at the castle because of Vanessa being sent to Grado, it's not funny anymore." Tana had a huge smile on her face as she said that though. "So I decided to leave for Renais early. How are things going here?"

"A little hectic to say the least. Have a seat." Tana did as Eirika instructed and glanced at the sheer amount of paper on the swordswoman's desk. "Don't ask. It's like a living nightmare that I don't know how to explain." Tana nodded in understanding. She was often criticized for her naivety, but at least that naivety had resulted in her not judging Eirika for her gift- and in fact she had doubled her allowance a good few times betting it on jousting tournaments with other rich girls, using her friend's gift to predict the winner. "I've been dreaming again, let's leave it at that."

"I see. I heard Ephraim is busy, too." Tana was still smiling. Eirika didn't have the heart to tell her Ephraim was researching the origin and gifts of their mother and fighting a verbal battle with Valerie, rather than working on wedding preparations. She suddenly felt a little ashamed that she had all but forgotten about the upcoming wedding of her brother and her best friend. "Speaking of which…" Tana leaned forward in her chair, "How fare things with you-know-who?"

"Tana, drop it." Eirika's own smile dropped. "You know that wouldn't work out even if he did want it. …what?"

Tana had crossed her arms and glared at Eirika. "Are you _serious?_ Or blind? He wants it, everyone knows that. He wants _you._" She pointed at her.

Eirika shook her head. "He doesn't want to go further than where we are now. You don't know Seth like I do, Tana. To him, relationships between lieges and their retainers are improper and should therefore be avoided at all costs." She stared out the window, through which she could see him surrounded by the lower-ranked knights in what seemed to be a cross-examination. "As much as I wish it were different…"

"It better get different soon, then," Tana said, getting up behind her friend. "Just because Seth is the only one whose feelings you return, does not mean he's the only man who has his eye on you." Eirika turned. "I don't know if you're aware, Eirika, but you're the beautiful twin sister of the king of Renais. You're a very attractive prey, if you'll forgive the word." She shook her head. "At least Seth has genuine feelings for you. That's more than I can say about most of your other would-be suitors." Eirika remained silent. Tana was right, of course. It was something that bothered her and Ephraim, too.

And think of the devil… "Eirika, I think I've found what we— ohh, Tana." Ephraim was as surprised to see the Falcoknight as Eirika had been, although he quickly shifted the tone of his voice and the expression on his face to appear happily surprised rather than looking as if she had interrupted something important.

"Ephraim!" Tana's face beamed, and she completely ignored Eirika's confused expression behind her. "They told me you were too busy, otherwise I would have come to see you!"

"That's okay, Tana," Ephraim said, smiling at her. "'They' are right, anyway. I am quite busy with quite the array of matters…"

"And knowing you, you're handling them all at the same time without a clear planning or anything of the sort." Eirika laughed as Tana said that. She was spot on.

"It's how I work," Ephraim protested, "And thus far it has always worked out."

"Thus far, yes." Tana laughed, but Ephraim could tell she was going to off on a tangent for a few seconds now and used that opportunity to wordlessly inform Eirika behind Tana's back they'd talk later. Eirika raised her hand in a gesture that he had to stay calm and that it was fine. "Innes always has a structure in the things he does. Especially if it's matters of the state Father requested his help with."

"I certainly hope not to turn into Innes," Ephraim joked, "I don't think Magvel could handle two of him." He then left the room with Tana, leaving Eirika alone with her own work once more.

For some reason, Seth's attention was drawn to the window above him. He'd left the stables by now, to get some fresh air and to shake the gazes of Valerie's men, only to now find himself besieged by his own men. And woman, for Amelia was amongst them. When he looked back down at the ground level, he was faced with Forde, Kyle and Franz, none of them looking too happy. Anyone could guess what this was about, so Seth didn't even let them begin. "Bear with it. They're only going to be here for a few days, a week at most."

"Then surely it's not too much to ask of them to behave for those few days," Kyle said. "They're insulting us as warriors and as people. In fact I believe they've been spouting nonsense about the king and the princess."

"It's just talk." Seth shook his head. "I don't need to hear it, Kyle. I understand that it's a direct attack on our pride as Knights of Renais, but it does not directly put our king, our princess or us in physical danger. We've all spoken nonsense like this about certain people when we were younger." He paused when he saw the looks on the other four faces. Obviously, they could not imagine him doing so. …and they had a good point. "Most of us, anyway. It's not our fault lady Valerie did not bring more mature men with her."

"…but lady Valerie is the worst of them all, general Seth." Amelia spoke up a little hesitantly.

"I believe I've told you to speak more loudly, Amelia." Seth changed his tone in order to encourage the girl. "You have smart things to say. Make sure we hear them." He knew Amelia's confidence was still a little on the rusty side because of the way the old Grado army had treated her for being a young girl, and it frustrated him- the Renais army was plenty different, after all.

"Um, okay…" She paused, and then picked up where she left off. "Like I said, lady Valerie is the worst of them all. She's the one who gives them all their material- the things she says about king Ephraim, princess Eirika and yourself, general Seth, it's…"

"Sickening," Franz offered. Amelia nodded heftily in agreement. "I know it's not the first time in Magvel history that the setting of a bad example has led to bad followers…"

"That's one of the things they're saying, yeah," Forde mumbled to himself. "Something about how they could imagine we're poor knights, what with 'a leader like that.'" He seemed to hesitate. "Say, general, we have to know." The other three looked at Forde in utter shock when he started. "Just so we can slam their faces into the dirt next time they start about it. Are you and princess Eirika…"

"No." Somehow, his own men having to ask that was more insulting to Seth than foreign men throwing rumors around about it was. He knew the four were observing him closely in hopes of seeing his reaction to the insinuations. He tried not to show it, but he was greatly bothered. Valerie had not only found cause to believe Seth and Eirika were more than just a princess and a retainer -which was true, much as Seth wanted it to be different-, but she had also twisted it into a scandalous story _and_ spread the word amongst her men in a relatively short time. This was more upsetting to him than anything else.

"Sir…" Franz said, "Do you know what the meaning behind all this is? Why would sir Knoll send us these men instead of a proper diplomat?"

"Who will tell us?" Seth said. In all fairness, he had wondered this, himself. He knew Knoll well. When king Ephraim, still prince Ephraim at the time, had recruited the dark mage into their patchwork army, Seth had been present and he had asked Knoll more questions than he should have, even considering the man had been in Lyon's service prior. To this day he was a bit ashame that his prejudice against Shamans had gotten in the way of his professionalism, but at least it had led to him knowing who he was dealing with. "But let me ask you. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Er," Forde said, "They could try to assassinate the king or princess? Or both?"

"It will not come that far." From the looks of his subordinates, his expression had changed for the more serious. "I will not let them. I do have one question for the four of you." He crossed his arms, looking at them. "How do you know all this? The only one of them I've ever heard speaking our language is Valerie."

"Amelia speaks their language," Franz said, "She's been listening in and translating."

That gave Seth an idea. He normally was not for the use of spies, but he did have to admit that the rudeness and attitude of the Grado men was getting under his skin. "That's true… Amelia, could you do something for me?" She nodded. "Keep it up. Listen in on their conversations and if you hear anything disturbing at all, report to me. That said…" he turned back to the other three no, as well. "If the four of you pick a fight with them, I will not be amused. Is that understood?"

A chorus of four answered. "Yes, sir."

A great many hours after that little interrogation, Seth found himself jolting awake. …the same old nightmare again. And as were it sentient, his old injury acted up. Great. He sat up, clutching his right shoulder. Pain… now that no one was around, he dared to mentally curse the name of Moonstone Valter. Ever since he had attacked the castle of Renais, Seth had suffered not only of this wound but also of a recurring nightmare. Aside from princess Eirika and himself, no one really knew just how serious his condition had been at the time… He could well have died there. And what would have happened then? What would have happened to the princess, the king, Renais?

He was grateful that his dreams did not function like princess Eirika's, for if they were to be believed, the results of his death back then would have been beyond gruesome. Still, at least they weren't his _other, _less innocent dreams… It was hard to say which of them he hated more, but he did know for sure that just for once, he would like to have a dreamless sleep. Maybe this was why he so easily placed faith in the princess' gift. He could relate to her being plagued in her sleep.

Heaving a sigh, he reminded himself there was no need to get out of bed seeing as he was not on patrol duty that night and lowered himself back into a somewhat comfortable position on the side of his good shoulder. As he fell asleep, he hoped the princess was having a better night's rest than he was.

…and he would swear that it was only a second later that he woke up again, this time because of Forde giving him a good shake. He was about to tell him exactly how he felt about the younger knight shaking his bad shoulder, but changed his mind when he saw the seriousness on the blonde's face. "…what? The king?"

"T-the princess."


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author's Notes: **THIS CHAPTER. HAS BEEN TROLLING ME. ALL WEEK. Suffice to say that first my brain seems to completely forget about it, making me brainstorm on a completely different project, then when I do start writing I write myself into a corner__ no less than three times, and now my upload is late for the simple reason that the site wouldn't let me log in all day yesterday. Now, I'm not blessed with Eirika's gift, but something tells me I screwed up in this chapter and that it should not be shown to the world. :\ Oh well. At least Josh though_t _it could see the light of day._ _Apologies for the rant, but I had to get it out of my system._

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><p>Forde wanted to step back but was stopped from doing so by Seth suddenly grabbing his arm. "What's happened to her? Goddammit Forde, answer me!"<p>

"D-don't forget to breathe, general." Forde somehow managed to pry his arm from the redhead's grip. "I heard her scream when I passed by on my patrol, so I took the liberty of checking in on her… She wouldn't let me get close to her bed, though. She demanded that I fetch you, instead."

"Who is with her at the moment?" Seth got up and grabbed the sword he always kept within arm's reach.

"Eh… no one. I thought I'd- Ow!" The Paladin had smacked him on the back of the head and left, with his sword and a thick robe as his only preparations. "_Besides there was no one in the direct vicinity!_"

Seth could probably dream the route from his room at the barracks to princess Eirika's in the castle. Not in the last place because he _had-_ He shook his head. This was not the time to be thinking about such things. When he reached the princess' bedroom, he half-drew his sword under the robe he had initially only brought to keep himself warm. If any of those Grado Wyvern Riders were in there, he had to be ready.

Fortunately, it didn't look like there were any of them. He let go of his sword, letting it slide back into the sheath, as he saw the princess sitting up in bed. "…princess Eirika? I've been told you called for me."

"Seth?" Much to his surprise, she leapt out of her bed and rushed over towards him, touching his face and grabbing his arm. "Y-you're okay… thank god…" Unashamed, she then embraced him. "I was afraid you'd…" She shook her head, not even finishing her sentence. She didn't have to, Seth could tell what she was thinking. He somewhat helplessly started to put his hand on her shoulder, but stopped that when the door was opened again and this time, Valerie came in.

"I hear something is happening down here. Where are my men? They reside not far from this room."

"I would not trust your men with my horse, much less with my liege." Seth lost his composure for a split second, painfully aware that it frustrated him Valerie saw him and princess Eirika the way they were right now. The Wyvern rider eyed the two for a second, but then put one hand on her hip.

"General Seth, the longer I am here the more bothered I am by your inexplicable rudeness. Is this how Renais treats all its guests?"

"No," king Ephraim's voice sounded from the doorway, "Only the ones that barge into my sister's room without permission or business. Get out." Valerie glared at the king, but he was very far from impressed. When she was clearly unwilling to leave, Ephraim crossed his arms. "You have two options, lady. Either you get out peacefully or I give the good general leave to remove you by any means he deems necessary."

A staredown ensued, but as Ephraim nodded to Seth, Valerie seemed to decide she wasn't looking forward to a fisticuff with the agitated Paladin. "Very well. But you will feel this in our negotiations tomorrow, king Ephraim."

"Try me. See what I care." Ephraim remained stone-faced as Valerie passed by him on her way out of the room, but as soon as she was out of hearing range, he came over to his twin with concern obvious on his face. He didn't even say anything about Eirika clinging to Seth like a drowning man to a rock. "Eirika, you've got a bloody nose. If that woman _hit_ you, I'll-"

"Please, Ephraim." Princess Eirika pressed her hand to her nose and Seth noted that the king was right- it was bleeding. How had he not noticed? "It came spontaneously. Valerie hasn't even been in here for long enough to hit me. And why would she?"

Ephraim shook his head. "I don't think she'd feel the need for a reason. So what's going on?" When the princess gave him a questioning look, he crossed his arms and nodded towards Seth. "At least I don't assume the two of you are having an affair that causes Seth to be here at this time of the night. So, Seth? What gives?"

Seth realized he had proceeded with putting his hand on the princess' shoulder. No matter, though- only the king was here to see it. "I was sent for, sir. I was about to ask the princess why, myself, when Valerie invaded."

Ephraim mumbled something to the effect of 'interesting choice of words' and looked over at his sister. When she pulled her hand away from her nose, it worried Seth that the bleeding didn't appear to have stopped. Apparently the king was bothered as well, seeing as he started looking around him for something (presumably a handkerchief or something similar she could use to stop the bleeding). "I've had that dream again. But this time it had a sense of extreme urgency."

"What do you mean?"

"Whoever is trying to kill Seth is getting closer. And I can't be completely certain about this yet, but I think other people are in danger, too." No surprise there. Seth knew that if anyone tried to kill him up front, princess Eirika, king Ephraim and most of his subordinates would leap headfirst into the fray in an attempt to protect him. But that didn't mean it wasn't worrying. "Where's Tana?"

"Guest quarters." Ephraim pointed his thumb over his shoulder into the hallway. "Do you need me to get her or would that just be needlessly worrying her and eventually feeding rumors the populace is already feeding on?" Eirika glared at him. "You know how she gets, Eirika."

"Well, don't bother trying to wake her up. You know a dead man is easier to wake than Tana is." The princess ran her hand through her hair in thought. "I'll talk to her tomorrow. She might not even be in direct danger- I'll have to re-check that…"

"You're certainly busy." Ephraim grinned. "Were you planning on eating and sleeping?"

The princess glared at him. "Not funny, Ephraim. You try uncovering a murderer before the actual murder takes place."

"Princess." Seth squeezed her shoulder to get her attention, as if his voice had not been enough for that. "I beg your pardon, but I must ask you to watch your health."

She responded surprisingly fiercely. "I can recover my health, Seth. I want to see you pull that off with your life."

Her perseverance and dedication were just a few of those traits that could make his heart skip a beat, but he still felt the need to correct her. "It's not your duty to be concerned and to endanger yourself for the sake of a knight like myself. We've gone over this."

"…yes, we have." Princess Eirika pulled herself from his grip. "I'm going to do something about this bloody nose." With that, she left the room. Ephraim looked at her leave and sighed.

"…Seth." Something in his voice made the Paladin hesitant to look at him. "We need to talk." He sat down on the princess' bed. "I'm not going to lecture you on how you're treating Eirika, don't worry about that. That's for you and her to figure out, I just do the planning of the wedding." Seth frowned, but did not respond. "But now that Eirika is out of earshot, this is the perfect time to ask for your help. You heard the woman. You're not the only person in danger here. Now, I'm not a certified spokesperson for the other world, but I have a hunch."

"You fear for princess Tana?"

"Not immediately. I see little connection between Tana and yourself other than that she will be your liege soon. Now Eirika on the other hand." He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees and weaving his fingers in front of his face. "You don't want to admit this publicly, but in private, let's face it. There's more between you and Eirika than there is between most knights and princesses."

Seth hurriedly looked back to see if no one was listening in on them. "Your Majesty… I guarantee you that it does not interfere with my duties and it never will."

"Don't bother, Seth. When are you ever going to learn I full-heartedly support a bond between you and her. But it does pose a problem here." He got up, calmer this time, and started pacing the room. "Bear with me for a bit. There's someone out there who has it in for you. So much that his goal is to put you six feet under. So much and so seriously that whatever is up there-" he impatiently gestured at the ceiling, "-felt the need to warn Eirika. But here's the issue. You're _Seth_. I've seen you take on a Dracozombie on your own and while waiting for l'Arachel to come over and heal the wounds you sustained from it, you busted up a Cyclops while you were at it. And to this day you're fighting while living with a wound that should have killed you and would have killed any other man."

"Despite what the healers of Frelia told her, princess Eirika apparently did better than we thought in applying first aid to it."

"False modesty doesn't suit you, Seth. It's because you're practically indestructible. Which brings me to my point. How is anyone ever going to kill you? You're not even at the peak of your capabilities yet. You can do even better than this." Ephraim slowed down, but kept pacing. "So I've been thinking, but I could to the best of my ability not imagine how any normal human would put a scratch on you. Eirika's outburst just gave me the answer, though."

"Other people are in danger," Seth remembered.

"Yes. Or specifically, one other person." Ephraim now came to a full halt. "You have one weakness. One glaring weakness that presents itself on a silver platter to those who know to look for it. And it's Eirika. She's been saying from the very beginning that she would have a hand in your demise. And she will- just not voluntarily. Your strongest weapon is your iron will and discipline. But break that iron will and you're just another human like me."

Seth understood what his liege was steering at. "And princess Eirika would be their way of breaking me." It was probably the first time he explicitly admitted it to anyone other than the princess herself, he realized. "Does she know?"

"I only just figured this out myself- if she hasn't come to the same conclusion on her own, then she doesn't. Worry not, though. If she does not yet know, I will inform her. All I want you to do is make a little sacrifice of sorts." Seth nodded, indicating he was listening. "We don't know _how_ the enemy will use Eirika. I want to be sure the worst doesn't happen, and that's where you come in. I want you to drop quite honestly most of your duties so you can protect my sister. I realize this may be a little much to ask, especially since we still have yourself to worry about…"

"I have been prepared to die since the day I took my vows."

"I knew you were going to say that, but it'd be kind of counterproductive if you were to… you know, I have no idea where I'm going with that sentence without confusing myself." Ephraim had pressed his fingers against his forehead when he said that, and now crossed his arms. "There is one thing I do want you to realize though. If you're going to serve as my sister's personal bodyguard, you'll have to do it right… which means I might have to go as far as to have the two of you sleep in the same room. I'm really going to need you to get over your perception of propriety and impropriety if this is to work."

Seth felt no need to think about that for long. "I'm here to serve the royal family of Renais." His upbringing and training were screaming at him, but this was to protect princess Eirika instead of himself. If he would go to the bowels of hell and back for her, he could get over himself for her.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author's notes: **__Oh boy do I have some explaining to do. I missed last week's update- I'm so sorry about that. My birthday was last Friday, but I've also had a very busy week in terms of university work and the Dutch equivalent of mardi gras (lacking a better way to quickly explain it) was last week too, so altogether, the reason I haven't updated was simply that the chapter was not done. There were two things I could do, namely rush and post a half-arsed chapter (which I'm fiercely against as I don't want to deliver anything I'm not 100% behind) or skip last week's update and make it up to you guys by posting a longer chapter this week._

_I hope this will suffice for you guys to forgive me._

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><p>When Amelia came to the stables early in the morning to get tack for Harmony and Primrose, she almost bumped into one of the Grado Wyvern Riders. She had wanted to get the tack quickly so she and Franz could get on horseback and leave for their pre-breakfast ride through the woods. When the Wyvern Rider saw her, he gave her a shove and called her a stupid mule, telling her to watch where she was walking in the Grado language. He thought Amelia couldn't understand him, but she momentarily considered replying that she was sorry. Old habits died hard, but she shook it. She had to man up, and if these men found out she spoke their language she could no longer perform the task given to her by general Seth. And she so badly wanted to perform well in the army of Renais.<p>

She made her way to the tack room and reached for the bridles of the two mares when she vaguely heard the men talking. At first she thought it was the usual, name-calling and insulting the knights of Renais, but soon, she caught more interesting words. "…but say, all that aside. How much longer are we going to be staying here?"

"That depends on what Valerie wants to do." The man speaking had a very deep voice, not unlike general Duessel's. "If I'd been her I would have gone for the prize by now, but she wants to do it right, she says. Leave an impression on the bastards."

"Let's just hope the missy uses her time wisely. With the princess of Frelia here…"

"Right. We hadn't counted on her showing up. Silence her?"

"Dipshit. We'd get that entire army in our necks. Not to mention the royals. Did you see that girl practise with the general the other day? If I am to be on the receiving end of that sword, I want to have the advantage of the first strike."

"I dunno, man. I'd rather have _her_ on the receiving end of _my_ sword." Amelia suppressed a groan. Yes… the Renais military was much, much better disciplined and mannered.

"Hey Amelia!" She jumped at least a mile when Franz barged into the tack room. "What's taking you so long? I've already fed, watered and brushed Primrose!"

"F-Franz!" she turned around and he grabbed the bridle for his steed out of her hands. "I'm sorry… I overheard things…"

That caught his attention and he stopped reaching for his saddle. "Really? Well I do suppose that if looks could kill I would have been dead just now. As if I'd interrupted something. What were they going on about?" She translated for him. Immediately, he hung his tack back. "Forget riding, this is exactly the sort of stuff general Seth wanted us to report to him."

"Whatever it is, you're going to want to wait until he's had his breakfast and his post-breakfast training session with Bolero." Kyle leaned against the doorway. "I always knew the general was not much of a morning person to his own standards, but he's extremely agitated this morning. If you report anything disturbing to him now I'm not giving a single gold for your life."

"Not a morning person?" Amelia repeated, stupefied, "But general Seth is _always…_ eh…" She was lost for words to put it in without insulting the Paladin.

"Inhuman," Franz finished. "That may be so, but if you've served as closely under him for as long as Kyle and Forde have, you learn to pick up… subtle differences in his conduct. Can you tell us why he's different today?"

"Something must have happened last night. Forde had watch, but I've yet to get it out of him. Knowing general Seth though, it's something to do with the princess. So what was that the two of you felt you needed to report to him?" Amelia gave the translation a second time. Kyle shook his head thoughtfully. "…yes, wait until the general is fully awake and calm before you tell him that. I don't think he'll actually hurt you for it, but we don't want to bother him and get on his bad side, now do we?"

"I really don't think general Seth will be that unreasonable…" Franz muttered, "but I'll take your word for it…"

Franz was wise to take his superior on his word. "Seth, are you sure you're okay?" Eirika looked at him, concerned. They had left her room, after what she imagined had been a very short night for her protector. Ephraim had insisted that they couldn't lose a second if Eirika was to be the weapon that would do Seth in, so the Paladin had had to sleep in her room, and in her bed, without any time to mentally prepare him for such a trial. Eirika had no way of knowing this, but he had spent most of the night struggling with himself.

"It is nothing, your highness. Please don't worry about me."

"I'm psychic, general. Don't try to hide it from me." She gave him an intriguing look piercing straight into his soul, "You are not okay." In reality, it had nothing to do with her being psychic. It was that she had been around him for so long that both she and Ephraim were pretty sure they knew him as well if not better than he knew himself.

He blinked a time or two, and then shook his head. "Again, princess, it's nothing. I am a man who requires his sleep, that is all."

"You're fine when you've been on watch or patrol duty though." Eirika shook her head, a sign that she didn't want to pursue the subject further, as she watched him tighten the cinch of his saddle. She knew the Paladin well, but sometimes she'd give her gift and her sword arm to know what exactly went on in his head.

Eirika herself had had no issues whatsoever with Seth sharing her bed. It was big enough that the two of them didn't have to lay inappropriately close to each other. And even if that had been the case, Seth would never do anything to violate or otherwise harm her, so she had felt perfectly safe with him next to her. Admittedly she had been tempted once or twice to turn over and put her arms around him, but seeing as that would just have offended him, she had opted not to. The only thing he hated more than inappropriate conduct from a subordinate was the same conduct from a superior, after all.

She was always impressed with the form of the general on horseback. He always looked every bit the knight in shining armor in the stories both she and Tana had loved so much when they were children- except with red hair instead of blonde, and on a brown horse instead of a white one. However, she didn't get much in the way of time to watch him ride before Tana arrived at the ring. "Good morning, Eirika," she said, hugging her friend. "Ephraim tells me there's been an incident while I slept. I can't believe I missed it!"

"I can," Eirika said, smirking. "You would sleep through a siege. Until someone touched Achaeus or Ephraim, that is…" Tana grinned.

"You're one to speak. Do so much as utter a bad word about Seth and you're in attacking mode. So what happened?" Eirika told her. About the dream she'd had, which made her fear that Seth was already dead, so she had sent for him; that Valerie had barged into the room as she had been explaining this to the Paladin, and the ensuing scene. Tana frowned when she finished.

"Soooo… in the end, you and him were in one bed the rest of the night?"

Eirika slammed herself in the face at that. "THAT's what you got from all this? Tana, you're hopeless."

"Nah, you're the hopeless one. I'm the one who's getting married, you're the one who sleeps with her love interest without wedding- hmmmmph…"

Eirika had put both hands over Tana's mouth, her face as red as Seth's hair if not redder. "D-don't say such things! You'll spread rumors… N-nothing happened tonight!"

Tana's face spoke volumes. "…not because you didn't want it to though, I can tell from your face," she said once her mouth was free again. "Besides, those rumors are already there. Everyone who fought in the war knows you have a soft spot for him. And what gives? Though not common on Magvel, I hear foreign princesses do it all the time…" Eirika felt her face turning red again. There were women who did that?

"I… am not like that. HE isn't like that." She looked around to see Seth, who needed all his focus to steer a somehow fairly moody Bolero.

Tana leaned forward and put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "He's handsome, he's devoted, he has a very strong and toned body and he has experience in riding wild mares- OW!" Eirika had turned around and slapped Tana in the face. Hard. "Owww… the war's paid off, I don't recall you hitting that hard in the past."

"Be quiet. Don't say such things." Eirika turned back around in frustration. "He's not like that. He wouldn't do that no matter how much I wanted him to." She didn't say that she had initially woken up with Seth's arms around her. She hadn't wanted to make things hard on him though, so she had pretended to still be asleep when he woke up and realized, hurriedly letting go of her. His arms around her hadn't been unpleasant though, and Eirika certainly wouldn't mind waking up like that every morning… She knocked herself in the head.

"Impure thoughts?" Tana said, grinning, and Eirika glared at her. "Don't look at me, now. You're the one thinking them."

"Shut up Tana… Just… shut up."

For a few seconds, Tana remained silent. Then, she brushed her hair behind an ear and said: "…say, Eirika? Something's been bothering me. Can I ask you something?"

Eirika looked over her shoulder. Tana looked serious. This was not mocking her for her lack of action towards Seth…

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><p>Ephraim groaned as he woke up. He hadn't slept well, not with last night's developments. If anyone ever thought Eirika was foreseeing Seth's death on a battlefield years from now, that thought would have been killed with a sledgehammer now that she had been warned again. For all they knew the next few days could be crucial. He had to set up stricter patrolling schedules, as if that wasn't bad enough with Seth's dropping out, work Valerie and her crew out the door as soon as possible so they wouldn't get in the way, there was still his wedding to worry about and today he'd be face-to-face with more people wanting to see Eirika wed…<p>

"Can't I just give her to Seth as a reward for his service in the war..?" he mumbled to himself. That would solve a massive headache for him and for Eirika, though he knew Seth wouldn't accept so easily. And it was beyond unethical anyway, even if he only used it as an excuse. The uproar the people would be in… ohh boy. He was not looking forward to that, he really wasn't. He had to explain to Tana why Achaeus had so little space while she knew there was a Pegasus stable, too… Today was not looking good already. He considered going back to sleep, but such was life- kings didn't get the luxury of going back to sleep if they woke up badly.

The worst part was that all these distractions came in now, now that he had to protect his knight protector and friend. It had occurred to him that most people wouldn't have bothered in his position. Was he playing favorites? …he tried to picture Eirika if he allowed Seth to be killed. No, he was most certainly not playing favorites. He was just seeing to it that his twin didn't tear him to shreds.

As he left his chambers, he ran almost straight into Valerie. The Wyvern Lord still gave him the chills, as if she was foreboding to something. "Your Majesty," she said, "Is it customary for Renais nobles to sleep in this late?"

"I might not have had to sleep in if you hadn't interrupted my night's rest, lady. I intend to come to a conclusion in our negotiating today- I have many things to do from tomorrow onwards and I would very much like to have you and your men out of the castle by then." He wanted to add that it was nothing personal, but really, he couldn't look her in the eye and say that truthfully.

A small smirk crossed Valerie's face. "Yes, of course. You are a busy man and I too, intend to conclude my… business… here today." She looked into the distance with a dreamy look on her face, as if her mind was not on the Grado-Renais relationships at all. Ephraim had taken note of that before during their discussions. She might have been a fine warrior, but she was a very poor diplomat. He wondered what she meant by 'her business' and for a moment the thought crossed his mind that… no way. Not even Valerie had THAT much gall in her… did she? "I simply do not have time to dawdle in this country any longer."

"We are in agreement on that, then." Ephraim noted that she was fiddling with her sword -a common nervous twitch in many fencers- as she walked away. He didn't have his sister's gift OR intuition, but he was seriously alarmed. He had seen Valerie quite often during the past few days and he had a feeling that Seth's demise had something to do with her presence in Renais. And that he had been a complete idiot for not noticing this.

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><p>Bolero stopped and Seth swung out of the saddle. He had seen princess Tana arrive at the ring, and he saw that something was going on to embarrass princess Eirika… but right now, his princess had lost the color in her face and desperately tried to get his attention, waving frantically and heftily gesturing that he had to come over. Concerned, he pulled Bolero to the fence, where princess Eirika grabbed his arm. Seth's first reflex was to pull back, but she was surprisingly strong. "Princess, whatever is-"<p>

"She's a fraud." Behind princess Eirika, princess Tana looked about as confused as the swordswoman looked distressed. "Valerie. She's not an envoy sent by Grado- Knoll and Duessel are in Frelia, holding conference with king Hayden, even as we speak. Valerie's group shouldn't be here at all!"

"WHAT?" Seth could hit himself right now. It made perfect sense now. Valerie's men hardly spoke any Renais. In fact, Valerie was the only one ever present in the negotiations- her subordinates generally caused trouble for Seth's. King Ephraim complained that Valerie was a poor diplomat, and the knights had complained that Knoll wasn't thinking straight, sending these men. It all made so much sense now. "Then why is she here?" He thought he knew the answer to his own question.

"With a small horde of warriors? There can only be one reason!" Princess Eirika's nails dug deep into Seth's flesh. "It's her, Seth. She has it in for you for some reason. She came here to…"

"Princess, breathe easily." Seth gently grabbed the princess' arms, trying to sound less upset than he was. "We don't have any proof of that, although at the time it is the most reasonable answer."

"Proof of what?" Three heads jolted up and in the direction of the greenish-haired Grado Wyvern Rider. "The only proof I see is of an improper relationship between general Seth and princess Eirika." Valerie had her sword in hand. Seth didn't need to see it up close to know it had been sharpened to sickening extents. He was safe behind the fence, but princess Eirika was right in her path. And the Wyvern Rider seemed willing to do some pretty drastic things…

"Princess Tana… I need you to leave. Get the king." Seth said it quietly enough for Valerie to largely miss it, but also using an accent as thick as he could manage in hope the Grado woman wouldn't understand _what_ she picked up. Then, when princess Tana stepped back, he addressed his enemy. "So you came here with the intention to end my life."

Valerie patted her hand with her sword. Every second, she seemed to fall further into insanity… resembling her brother, the identity of whom Seth now finally realized, more and more with each passing moment. "Wrongs have to be righted, general. Since you're not going to be tried for your war crimes, I'm taking care of matters myself."

That hit home, but instead of showing that, Seth reached for the sword hanging from his waist. "Your brother was none better, if not far worse, than myself."

"You murdered him." Valerie grit her teeth as she said that. "You murdered him as though he were an ordinary rank-and file. Like _cattle!_"

Seth decided to take a risk. "It was my pleasure!" he leapt over the fence, drawing his own sword. "Someone had to kill him and I'm grateful that the honour was mine!" It was the truth. Seth had never taken pleasure in killing… except the one time he had ended the life of the Moonstone. He had hated Valter more than he had ever hated any other man. He had been more than grateful… he had been happy that he was the one who got to deal the deathblow to that Wyvern Knight… to that madman.

He stepped forward, but at that moment, Valerie pounced forward herself. With one hand she grabbed princess Eirika's wrist, twisting it onto her back while she put her sword to the princess' neck. "_Don't you dare come any closer!_ I'll kill you like you killed him! But not before I take away from you that which _you_ robbed from him!" She took her sword off of princess Eirika's throat to point it at him for a second, but put it back soon and stepped back. That simple gesture had drawn blood from the princess' soft neck. Indeed. Sharpened to sickening extents.

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><p><em><strong>Additional Author's Notes: <strong>I finally have the sense to edit in lines to perspectives shifts that don't have a proper transition -.- Also I'm never doing this again. Stuff that was still supposed to be_ _unknown by the start of the chapter was now completely cleared up by the end. Ehh. All my own fault._


	9. Chapter 9

"Think we're good?" Franz dismounted Primrose, landing next to his brother. He noted that Forde, Kyle, and Amelia had all armored up just as he had. Apparently he was not the only one afraid to get into trouble. And with good reason, too, because on their way to seeing general Seth about what Amelia had overheard, he saw the four Wyvern Riders, with their dragons. The other three knights of Renais had their own horses at hand as well, not wanting to bother putting them away after their own practice. Nevermind that those Wyverns could tear through the horses and eat them in the blink of an eye. As they approached the Wyvern Riders, the four became progressively more hostile. Franz saw Forde and Kyle put their hands on their sword and hesitantly followed their example as Amelia demanded passage in their own language.

Hell broke out when one of them gave her a shove. Franz caught her, but Forde saw one of them raise a lance and lashed out with his own weapon. The Wyvern Rider was unpleasantly surprised at the sheer length of the blonde knight's Lancereaver, knocking his spear clear out of his hand. The other three immediately mounted their dragons, an example the Knights of Renais followed. Franz took a lance to hand, throwing another one to Amelia- she caught it effortlessly and the Cavalier remarked how much she had improved since he'd first met her. Kyle and Forde both had Lancereavers, so all in all the Wyvern Riders had no advantage other than being capable of flight.

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><p>That which he had robbed from Valter.<p>

Eirika knew that Seth and Valter had both loved her- although it was hard to twist the concept of love to the extents that the Moonstone had. She had made the obvious choice for the Paladin, but that had not stopped Valter from trying to get his hands on her. To this day the swordswoman did not want to thinks of what would have happened to her had she fallen into the Wyvern Knight's possession. Taken hostage at swordpoint and being used against Seth would probably have been the least of her trouble.

She now realized that she had been foolish. It had been so obvious… she rode a Wyvern like him, she was rude and uncouth like him, she looked a bit like him and even their names were alike. And of course Valter's younger sister would resent Seth for killing him. She should have seen it, but she had been so focused upon the role she would play in the Paladin's demise…

Wait…

"NO!" She started to violently struggle in Valerie's grip, praying this would end well. She didn't dream she'd break free- The Wyvern Lord was incredibly strong, much like her brother had been, so the slender, physically rather weak princess stood no choice of breaking out whatsoever. But if she struggled violently enough for long enough, Valerie might take her eyes off of Seth for just a second. For a normal man, that was a one-second opening. For Seth, it would be a turning of the tides, a massive, glaring opening he would exploit to defeat the woman without hesitation.

She didn't care that Valerie's sword drew blood from her at every single contact. She had to provide Seth with an opening, and that was the end of it! When she tried to tug her arm from the Wyvern Lord's grip, Valerie lost it. "Keep still, you!" She pulled her back, doing another step backwards, "It's not your turn yet! So stop moving!" She twisted Eirika's arm further, drawing a gasp from her as she was fairly sure she felt her arm break.

However, she'd reached her goal. Valerie had taken her eyes off of Seth and the sword had come off of Eirika's throat for a second. And the audible sound of Eirika's bone snapping, with her subsequent cry of pain, clearly drove him over the edge. He'd leapt forward, quietly rather than with the roar Eirika had expected, but with his sword fully drawn. Once he was close enough to push the princess out of the way of his sword, he tried to connect it with Valerie.

She pulled Eirika to the side so she could counter properly, but this drew a scream from her. Much like the last one, that scream was the signal for a strike on Seth's part. However, he stopped his sword just before it would touch Valerie's body. The Wyvern Lord wasn't stupid. She knew the value of her hostage and she had placed her own sword over Eirika's throat again. Seth, too, knew the tactical value of this particular hostage. He also knew that his foe was beyond sanity. She would harm the princess. With a sword as sharp as hers, she would slit Eirika's throat with minimal effort. As far as Valerie was concerned, she would only let go of Eirika if the girl had no chance of living long after she did so. "Put down your sword, general," she hissed. "I don't think I have to inform you of the alternative."

* * *

><p>Franz knew he shouldn't allow himself the distraction, but his foe's dragon reeled from the blow it had taken to the chest, so he thought himself safe to take a sideways glance over to Amelia. Just as he looked, her lance bounced off of the Wyvern's chest harmlessly, but at the same time her horse bit into the wood of her foe's lance. This was hopeless, Franz knew. He wasn't as skilled as his brother was, but even he could tell these men weren't new to combat. They were too calm, too… amused, they weren't in the least bothered by their enemies being professional knights. Of course, Franz and Amelia were children compared to them, but at the very least, the recently promoted Kyle and Forde should bother them… right?<p>

"Aack!" Primrose reared, narrowly avoiding a lance making contact with Franz' leg, and Franz threw his weapon at his enemy. As by some sort of miracle it ended up in the man's shoulder, and he roared what the young knight assumed to be a curse before his Wyvern pounced forward and mauled Franz' face and chestplate with both front claws. The impact from the heavy dragon sent Franz flying off Primrose's back and he hit the ground hard, sharply intaking breath when his elbows made contact with the hard stone floor. Primrose neighed loudly, trying to pick a fight with the Wyvern, but Franz quickly clambered back onto her. Amelia's lance had been knocked out of her hand, so he directed his mare in her direction. Instead of trying to get his lance back, for which he didn't have the time anyway, he unsheathed his own sword.

Sadly, it was not a Lancereaver, but he figured a Silver Sword would be good enough to withstand a blow from what seemed to be an ordinary Steel Lance. Amelia's Harmony neighed loudly, leaping out of the way when Primrose rushed by and Franz slashed at Amelia's attacker. Amelia was swift, dismounting to grab her lance, but when the man Franz had originally been fighting approached her, she had to use it right away to deflect his attack before she could get back into the saddle.

She held her own well, but Franz was still relieved when Kyle removed a Hand Axe from his belt and threw it at the Wyvern Rider. It bought Amelia precious seconds she needed to get back on Harmony's back and to resume her battle. Eventually she got close enough to pull Franz' lance out of the enemy's shoulder, not only causing the wound to start bleeding, but also tossing the weapon back to its owner so Franz could stand up against his own lance-wielding enemy.

Amelia's enemy suddenly roared in intense pain and fell off his Wyvern with a fresh lance stuck in his back. Amelia blinked, but then spotted Forde, who had apparently finished his own foe and come to the help of the younger cavaliers.

At that moment, Franz let out a scream. Once more, the Wyvern he fought had slammed clawfirst into him and pushed him off-horse, except this time the rider had come off of it and pushed him against the ground, lance tip at his throat.

Forde turned Melody and although he looked calm, Amelia could see the anger in his eyes. Suddenly, he dismounted, grabbed the hand Axe Kyle had left on the ground, and closed the distance between himself and the Wyvern Rider.

"Don't you DARE mess with my little brother!"

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><p>Seth lowered his sword, but didn't let go of it yet. He knew Valerie was serious though, so slowly, he bent his knees and lowered his weapon further, eventually putting it on the ground. Valerie looked delighted. "That's a good boy. No need to tell you twice, is there? Now…" She pulled princess Eirika closer to herself again, "I suggest you stay back while I-"<p>

"Let go of my sister and surrender." Valerie turned in the direction of King Ephraim's voice, but then let go of princess Eirika in her haste to duck out of the way of the lance soaring towards her. The princess hurried over in Seth's direction and he grabbed her good arm and pulled her closer to him, putting both his arms around her as to protect her. She shook a little, but didn't have to seem any serious injuries. The blood drawn from her neck had come from shallow cuts.

"Who do you think you are?" Valerie shouted, her voice cracking at least once. "I'm so close! My revenge! My justice!" Seth, on the other hand, was relieved to see his liege, followed by princess Tana, who had a spare lance with her. Now that princess Eirika was no longer in the crazy minx' hands, he should be able to handle her just fine, but someone had to look after the princess… she was still shaking. Which was a little odd, considering Seth knew she had stood up to bigger threats in the past.

Perfectly calm, Ephraim walked over to where his lance was stuck in the ground and pulled it out, immediately flipping it over in his hands so he could use it at a moment's notice. "Interesting definition of justice you have there. Revenge I can understand. Seth's dealt deathblows to quite a few men of Grado, so I figure you're related to one of them."

"She's Valter's sister," princess Eirika said, "Her brother was that… that…"

"SAY IT!" Valerie turned and pointed her sword at princess Eirika, an idle threat that nonetheless provoked Seth into pulling the princess closer to him, "I dare you to say it, you wench!"

"That madman. That beast. That abomination against nature." With every word Ephraim said, Seth could see Valerie's anger getting stronger. "Let's face it, lady. Your brother was more of a monster than that dragon he rode, and while I understand your need for revenge… killing Seth for ridding the world of that maniac is a strange idea of justice."

Valerie let out a scream and attacked him, though fortunately Ephraim had been swift. Now that he used the lance to not only withstand Valerie's attack but also land a blow in her face, Seth saw that it was in fact Siegmund. That explained what had taken the king- knowing him, he had taken this threat seriously but not known off the top of his head where he had left his most powerful weapon. Those habits of his were starting to get troublesome…

Ephraim did not attack Valerie- rather, he stayed on the defensive. Tana kept a close eye on the fight, fiddling with the lance she, herself, held, but didn't step in. Finally, Valerie stopped her barrage of attacks on the king and just stood there, panting. "Wasting time…" she muttered, turning around and gazing at Seth and the princess.

Apparently she decided she'd get both her targets in one go, for she suddenly uttered a cry and ran at the two, sword raised. Seth's own sword was out of his reach, but a second after realizing this, he shoved princess Eirika away and reached to the sky with one arm. Not even a second later he felt his hand burning. But no matter.

When he grabbed the spear thrown to him by his liege with two hands, his other hand burnt as well. Siegmund was not meant to be wielded by just anyone, which explained the searing pain; the lance protested against the commoner's hands around it. However, Seth settled for this pain if it meant he could use a lance.

Valerie was upon him, but at the right moment, Seth stepped forward and lunged with the sacred lance. He pushed through the resistance he was faced with and felt warm blood gushing over his hands.

"General Seth!" looking to his side he saw Forde, mounted and armored, "We… uh… oh, you're fine." The blonde looked over at king Ephraim. "Your Majesty, we apologize for the tardiness… ran into some trouble with the ruffians… Kyle's taking them prisoner as we speak and-"

"Bring me one of those prisoners," Ephraim said, walking over to Seth to take Siegmund back. Seth realized that letting go of the lance was impossible alone- it had been welded to his hands. "I have questions for them."

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><p><em><strong>Author's Notes<strong>__**: **Sucking at combat scenes andputting up an all-combat chapter? I regret nothing! I'm going to be ballsy and try putting up the final chapter to Prophecies__ this Wednesday instead of Friday. I have a new project in the works, but more about that Wednesday._


	10. Chapter 10

"So if I understand correctly…"

"Yes." Eirika leaned against the wall, her broken arm in a sling. It stung, but she couldn't say it really hurt anymore. Meanwhile, Ephraim was very busy applying vulnerary salve to Seth's hands and wrapping them in bandages. "I spoke to one of the prisoners. He and his comrades were survivors of the squad that was with Valter when he fell to Seth's lance." He frowned as he looked at the blisters and third-degree burns. It had taken him a great deal of effort to pry the Fire Lance from the redhead's hands. These weapons were really not made for just about anyone's hands.

Tana was next to Eirika, shaking her head. "And Valerie just decided to take command of them and come to Renais for revenge?"

"She was easily as mad as her brother was." Ephraim turned a bit so he could look at his fiancee. "I guess that's what happens when you're around madmen a lot. The men remembered everything about that war from beginning to end, so it wasn't hard for her to figure out where she had to go and who she had to kill." Apparently finished with what he was doing, he rose to his feet. "I'm just happy Eirika could warn us so we could prepare. Somehow I think she may have had an easier time had we not known."

"I don't think it really did that much," Eirika said. "In the end she still managed to use me against him."

"Not for long though. And I'm happy to have those Wyverns in a separate pen now instead of our stables. How are the men?"

"As well as can be expected," Seth said. "Forde has calmed down and Franz will recover. Amelia is just a little shaken from having had to fight her old countrymen again and Kyle is more concerned about Franz' injuries than anything else." The youngest cavalier on the team had taken some serious wounds from when his enemy had knocked him off his horse, and even though she hadn't seen them, Eirika was fairly sure Forde had saved his little brother's life through means of what Kyle had called his fit of hysteria.

Eirika sighed and started to leave the room. "I need some time to myself." She was still embarrassed that she hadn't seen Valerie for what she had really been. As she left the room, she felt the gaze of her dear Paladin in her back.

* * *

><p>Much later that evening, Eirika rested on the battlements of the castle, looking over the fields where the two battles had taken place that day. She was still not happy with the incompetence she had shown… "It's not your fault, you know." She twisted around to see Seth behind her. His hands were still wrapped in bandages, but that didn't stop him from holding his lance. Eirika assumed he was on watch tonight- with Valerie gone, Seth had undoubtedly returned to his normal duties.<p>

"…what is not my fault?"

"All this. Valerie showing up. The injuries Franz took. This." He held up his hand to indicate that he spoke of the burns. He didn't set aside his lance, but did put his free hand on the battlements and leaned forward so he could look at Eirika. He winced. It hurt him to use his hands. "None of it is your fault. You saved me."

"I did not. She still used me against you. She took me hostage. If she hadn't done that, you would have been able to disarm her without having to kill her."

"She only took you hostage because it was simpler at the time. If I had not been close to you she might have killed you." There was something odd about the way he looked at her. It was something she hadn't seen in his gaze before. "And… king Ephraim is correct. If she had done that, it would have been a surefire way to get to me. Your warning did more good than you know."

"…something's bothering you." She suddenly understood what she saw in Seth's gaze. Doubt. Self-doubt, no less. "What is it?"

He didn't answer immediately, looking at the Wyverns that seemed to be play-fighting in their pen. The red one sat apart from the others, as if it realized its mistress was gone. "…Valerie went mad because I killed Valter. From what the men told us he was all she had… and then I killed him."

Eirika could somewhat understand that. When her father died, at least she had still had Ephraim (though far away) and Seth, although she was at that time not yet fully aware of how important he was to her. Seth shook his head. "…heavens know how many others like her there are out there. I've murdered more soldiers than I can count. Brothers. Sons. Fathers."

Eirika put her hand on his arm. "Don't think like that. You do it to protect those who cannot protect themselves… not to conquer. And certainly not for the sake of killing like he did. …besides, the men that you kill are generally the men who would kill you if you let them live. It's you or them."

"Except that I am the last of my bloodline." Those words sent a chill down Eirika's back. No. He couldn't think like that. She couldn't let him. "I am no longer anyone's son, I was never anyone's brother and I am no father. No one would miss me."

Eirika squeezed his arm. She would have slapped him but she didn't want to risk hurting him. "Don't think that. You know my father always thought of you as a son… more than any of the other knights." He looked down at her. "Ephraim might not say this but you're like a brother to him… and for me, you're so much more…"

"Princess Eirika, I-"

"Seth, I'm serious. Stop it." She managed to get under his arm and embrace him. Miraculously he did not push her away. A little hopefully, Eirika wondered if he was considering whether it would be worth the pain to push her away. "You may be the last of your own family, but you're practically a Renais as far as Ephraim and I are concerned. And then there's the knights… who will train Franz and Amelia if you die? Who will keep Forde in line? You know they wouldn't take orders from Kyle like they do from you."

She felt his hand coming to rest on her back. "You're so important to all of us… so please don't say that no one would miss you. We would. _I _would. Your sons would."

When she looked up at his face she saw bewilderment. "Princess… what makes you say that last? I have no sons."

"You will." Eirika smirked. Ephraim had shown her some of the further-reaching visions their mother had had and written down. "I know that. It's been foretold."

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><p><em><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>...and that concludes Prophecies. The culmination of all these weeks. Ending scenes much like combat scenes are not my strongest suit, but I hope this is sufficient for those of you who have followed it. From now__ on, I'm taking a two-week break from my fanfiction so I can catch up on my roleplaying and possibly finish a few RPs so I don't have so much on my plate anymore. In the week of March 26th, I'll start with the next fic, Beyond the Gate, which will star Roy and Nils. So tune in then!_


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